Arranging funeral expenses: Service costs can be high and can catch you off guard.

Byline: Pamela Yip

Aug. 8--When Patty Jacobs' 33-year-old son, Jeff, died in a boating accident in March, she was thrust into a major and immediate financial decision that most Americans are unprepared for -- purchasing funeral services. "This was such a shock," said Ms. Jacobs, 66, of Dallas. "You never expect that your 33-year-old son was going to die, and I had no idea what to do and hadn't even considered a funeral home."

Ms. Jacobs was fortunate in that her friend Joe Tinnin accompanied her to the funeral home to make arrangements for her son. If it weren't for Mr. Tinnin, a board member of the Funeral Consumers Alliance, she would have spent far more money than necessary, Ms. Jacobs said.

The average cost of a funeral is $6,500, excluding burial expenses, according to the National Funeral Directors Association, which represents the $11 billion-a-year industry. That makes a funeral the third-largest lifetime purchase for many consumers, after a home and car, according to the Federal Trade Commission. But the buying process is unlike shopping for a home or a car, or anything else. If you're in the market for funeral services, you're probably in a terrible emotional state and under strict time pressures. "It's the one purchase that we make with no preplanning at all. We just wait for it to happen," said Mr. Tinnin, whose group, the Funeral Consumers Alliance, aims to educate…